Advertising is a major tool for businesses to promote their brand, products and services, and reach their target audience. The average business spends around 12% of its annual revenue on advertising via website, digital, and print advertising. For many firms, advertising is one of their biggest expenses. But while you may need cash to cover some expenses, you can use a business credit card to pay for your business advertising.

As long as you pay off the balance in full each month, a business credit card provides a convenient way to fund marketing campaigns and can earn generous rewards. A business credit card can also help you keep personal and business finances separate, track spending, and produce accurate financial reports. In this article, we’ll look at some effective strategies for using a business card to fund your advertising.

Tips for using a business credit card to fund advertising

More than $285 billion was spent in 2021 on advertising in the US. Business credit cards are a useful tool for funding advertising costs, offering access to credit lines, rewards for spending, and flexible payment options. Here are some strategies for funding your advertising initiatives with a business credit card.

Choose the right business credit card

When choosing a business credit card for advertising expenses, look for a card that offers cashback or rewards on advertising spending. Even relatively small rewards can have a significant impact on your bottom line. For example, if you spend $500,000 a year on advertising using a business credit card with a 1.5% reward rate, you could receive up to $7,500 in cashback. While doing your research, look for a credit card that has an appropriate credit limit. Also, read the fine print, and check the card’s rates and fees, including balance transfer charges, foreign transaction costs, and annual subscriptions.

“Choosing the right business credit card is crucial as there are many rewards you can benefit from through your advertising expenses, combined with a flexible line of credit, low fees and competitive interest rates. Spend time comparing business credit cards to find the card that best aligns with your business spending habits and goals, saves money, and offers valuable tools to boost your bottom line.”

– Damian Brychcy, COO and US MD of Capital on Tap.

Set a realistic advertising budget

Business advertising can be expensive, especially for small businesses. It’s vital to create a realistic advertising and marketing budget that sets out what you can afford to spend. A realistic advertising budget ensures you can maximize and allocate resources most effectively as it can be easy to overspend.

Advertising budget will be influenced by the size of your business, revenue, marketing objectives, and company goals. But while there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to setting budgets, a basic rule of thumb is to spend at least 2% to 5% of revenue from sales on advertising. Your advertising budget can help you prioritize your marketing, track spending and accurately measure the return on investment of your initiatives. Ensure you stick to your advertising budget and avoid overspending to avoid interest charges.

Track your advertising spending

Closely monitoring advertising spending will help ensure you stick to your advertising budget and don’t overspend. A business credit card with expense tracking tools can help you determine exactly where money is being spent and which advertising channels produce the most leads and sales or increase brand awareness. You can use this information to adjust strategy and budget, maximize advertising spending’s effectiveness, and make data-driven decisions about future campaigns.

Research and utilize rewards

Look for a business credit card with rewards that will benefit your business and then make full use of them. While some business credit cards may offer the same rewards on all purchases, other cards may offer higher rewards for purchases in specific categories. Look for the card that offers the highest rewards on the kind of purchases you’ll be making for your advertising needs.

Some business credit cards offer even greater flexibility and can automatically tailor rewards to your spending. The rewards you receive can be used to offset advertising costs or help fund other business expenses.

Business credit card to fund advertising: Summary

A business credit card is a smart way to fund marketing. It can provide a flexible and convenient way to cover your advertising spend, and also deliver generous benefits that can help you maximize your efforts and help your business grow.